AUSTIN — Texas is looking to reform the state office that goes after fraud in health care and human services: the Office of Inspector General. The Sunset Advisory Commission, which targets government waste within state agencies, recommended changes to the … Read More
*Editor’s note: This story has been updated. As questions continue to surround agreements made between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and a contractor, a legislator is calling for investigators to get involved. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, on … Read More
AUSTIN – The Travis County District Attorney’s office and the Texas State Auditor will investigate how a company here won $110 million in state contracts without any competition, officials announced Thursday as the deals drew increasing condemnation and calls for … Read More
A spokesman for House Speaker Joe Straus on Thursday said the House will propose “a budget in January that requires much more stringent reporting on contracts by state agencies and institutions.” Jason Embry sent the statement in response to inquiries … Read More
AUSTIN – The powerful Texas Health and Human Services Commission official who resigned last week stretched the boundaries of a little-known state purchasing program to ensure a local company would not face competition for a $110 million contract, according to … Read More
We can no longer have an OIG that accuses providers of fraud, presumes them guilty, and denies them due process.” via Reform sought for agency investigating health, human services fraud – Reporter News.
New York State is going paperless, at least when it comes to drugs. A deadline imposed by the New York State Department of Health is rapidly approaching, to make New York State one of the first to axe state-issued prescription … Read More
Jack Stick resigned last week as top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Nine months before Jack Stick resigned as the top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission amid concerns over a $110 million no-bid … Read More
ndustry rivals of an Austin tech company, whose pending $90 million no-bid contract extension was stripped last week, say Texas health officials misled them when they competed for a Medicaid fraud contract, which they now allege was tailor-made for the … Read More
After receiving information from the Rogersville Police Department, TBI Agents began investigating Ronald James on February 5. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information that in November and December 2013, James prescribed Hydrocodone for a TennCare recipient who … Read More
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — More than 7,000 patients have trusted their health to Medi MD, but the owners of the clinics in St. Johns County are facing page after page of serious accusations.Action News was there in October, when the … Read More
Jack Stick, one of the elite health officials and former chief counsel for Texas Health and Human Services resigned Friday. This development took place because Stick had awarded $110 million contract to the Austin tech company 21CT in a no-bid … Read More
During a March 2012 webinar, a top Texas health official said his office was implementing a revolutionary tool to help Medicaid fraud investigators find bad guys: graph pattern analysis.“Graph pattern analysis is really the next line of defense for this … Read More
The top lawyer for the state’s sprawling health agency has resigned amid questions raised by an American-Statesman investigation into his relationship with an Austin technology company to which he was steering $110 million in contracts. Jack Stick, chief counsel for … Read More
The top lawyer at the Texas state agency overseeing all health and human services has resigned following concerns about a $110 million no-bid contract. Jack Stick, the general counsel at the Health and Human Services Commission, offered his resignation after … Read More
Jack Stick, the top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, is resigning his post amid a crumbling state contract with data warehouse 21CT. The commission’s Office of Inspector General, or OIG, has been under scrutiny for the … Read More
When investigators suspected that Houston’s Riverside General Hospital had filed Medicare claims for patients who weren’t treated, they moved to block all payments to the facility. Then politics intervened. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, contacted the federal official … Read More
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Dec. 11, 2014)– Charges have been filed against an Indianapolis dentist for falsely billing the State’s Medicaid program for dental treatments she allegedly did not perform. Dr. Bernice Avant, D.D.S., has been charged with one count of Medicaid fraud, … Read More
State administrators cannot withhold Medicaid payments from physicians suspected of program violations without evidence of fraud, a Texas appeals court has ruled. Appellate judges also struck down a rule that enabled the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to … Read More
WHY WE DID THIS STUDY Examining access to care takes on heightened importance as enrollment grows in Medicaid managed care programs. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, States can opt to expand Medicaid eligibility, and even States that … Read More
Ten people – including three Brooklynites – were arrested and charged for their roles in an alleged $70 million scheme to defraud Medicaid and Medicare by submitting phony claims to the programs through three sham medical clinics, including one based … Read More
CMS Attempts to Curb Medicare Fraud The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing new rules to help prevent Medicare fraud and abuse by barring physicians with unpaid debt from re-entering the system and ejecting providers who have … Read More
Rite Aid Corporation, a Delaware corporation and national retail drugstore chain with its principal place of business in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, has paid the United States $2.99 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by inappropriately … Read More
The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “We think there are enormous opportunities for in-home healthcare, or managers at hospice companies to cash in on lucrative federal whistleblower rewards, if they possess well documented proof the employer is overbilling Medicare, or Medicaid … Read More
A Florida owner and operator of multiple physical therapy rehabilitation facilities was sentenced in federal court in Tampa today to serve 11 years in prison for his role in organizing a $28.3 million Medicare fraud scheme involving physical and occupational … Read More
Texas and the federal government tentatively resolved a high-stakes health care funding inquiry on Monday, averting a major disruption to hospital funding. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reached the … Read More
Following a South Florida Medicare and Medicaid fraud scandal that knew no borders, Coral-Gables-based HMO Florida Healthcare Plus is laying the groundwork to continue servicing its members in 16 counties. Earlier this year, 11 South Florida residents were indicted on … Read More
December 2, 2014 — A Texas appeals court has invalidated several rules related to payment holds imposed during Medicaid fraud investigations, saying they violate due process rights. The Third Court of Appeals invalidated rules that authorized the Texas Office of … Read More
The State agency complied with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act in its review of cases for which there were credible allegations of fraud. In addition, the Surveillance and Integrity Review Section implemented its policies and procedures to address … Read More
It’s been 20 months since the Jindal administration canceled a nearly $200 million Medicaid claims processing contract amid allegations of improprieties in the way it was awarded. During that time, the administration has not sought any new proposals from private … Read More
The state health agency’s top lawyer, instrumental in steering more than $110 million in contracts to an Austin tech company, is a former business partner with that company’s lobbyist, state records show. Records show that beginning in 2002 Jack Stick, … Read More
Judge rightfully reins in anti-fraud unit after abusive action By Chris TomlinsonNovember 26, 2014 Doctors, dentists and other health care providers who care for the state’s most disadvantaged got some much needed relief Tuesday from an over-zealous, politically motivated anti-fraud … Read More
Law360, Dallas (November 25, 2014, 5:55 PM ET) — A Texas appeals court on Tuesday invalidated three Texas Health and Human Services Commission rules related to payment holds imposed during Medicaid fraud investigations, holding they violate due process rights. The … Read More
AUSTIN – Texas officials have been illegally withholding millions of dollars from dozens of dentists and orthodontists based on only the suspicion of minor wrongdoing, an appeals court ruled Tuesday, dealing another blow to the state’s beleaguered unit charged with … Read More
The Texas agency charged with investigating health care fraud suffered a serious setback Tuesday, when a state appeals court ruled that the Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General’s expansive use of a key tactic — withholding Medicaid … Read More
As Texas’ top health officials steer $110 million in no-bid contracts to an Austin tech company they say is revolutionizing Medicaid fraud investigations, the state’s top contract manager says those contracts are too loosely written and raise questions about what … Read More
Forbes magazine has dubbed 2014 “The Year of the Whistleblower.” For healthcare providers, this designation has translated into millions of dollars in fines and penalties and the initiation of criminal investigations. Just last month, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and … Read More
First Annual Recovery to Exceed $5 Billion; Over 700 Whistleblower Lawsuits for Second Consecutive Year The U.S. Department of Justice obtained a record $5.69 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government … Read More
Gov. Rick Perry has appointed David Tillman of Aledo and Jason Zimmerman of Keller to the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. The board oversees licensing and regulation of dental care providers in Texas, and enforces Texas laws regulating the … Read More
One of the nation’s largest nursing home chains will pay $38 million to settle federal claims that the company inappropriately billed for physical therapy and provided poor care that was “effectively worthless,” the Department of Justice reported. The agreement reached … Read More
